Underground railway system.



PATENTED NOV. 12, 1907.

I J. H. PARRAR. UNDERGROUND RAILWAY SYSTEM.

APPLICATION FILED MAB-.18, 1907.

Wham? 1 ga n ig:

hindrance to the growth of such cities.

JACOB HAMILTON FARRAR, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

UNDERGROUND RAILWAY SYSTEM.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Nov. 12, 1907.

Application filed March 18. 1907. Serial No. 362,984.

To all 'whom it may comer 11:

Be it known that I, JAooB HAMILTON FARRAR, a citizen of the UnitedStates, residing at Chicago, in the county of .Cook and State ofIllinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvements inUnderground RailwaySystems; and I do hereby declare the following to bea full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as willenable others skilled in the art to which itappertains to makeand usethe same.

This invention relates to a novel construction in undergroundrailroading, the object being to provide simple, efficient and cheapconstruction, particularly adapted to the needs of large cities andwhich combines with said railway other features of constructionnecessary to large cities, and consists in the features of constructionand combinations of parts hereinafter fully described and claimed.

In the accompanying drawings illustrating my invention Figure 1 is avertical longitudinal section of a railway tunnel constructed inaccordance with my invention taken on the line l-1 of Fig. 2. Fig. 2 isa vertical transverse section on the line 2-2 of Fig. 1.

In. all of the larger cities, the congestion of traffic on the streetshas become a very serious problem and a It has therefore becomenecessary in order to relieve such congestion to dispose the streetrailways either upon elevated structures or in tunnels disposedunderneath the streets. The elevated railroads are very objectionable byreason of the fact that such structures shut off a large part of thelight and further that the supporting pillars also constitute seriousobstructions in the streets. Such elevated structures are also conduciveto great noise and are in all ways undesirable. The construction ofunderground railways on the other hand is exceedingly expensive owing tothe fact that it is necessary in the excavation to close the streets totraffic during said time and removeall of the underground conduits, suchas sewers, gas and water pipes, electric wires, etc., and transferthemto other points. Furthermore, in order to enable the tunnels thus formedto bear the weight of the overhead traffic, the roofs of said tunnelsare required to be of great strength and carrying capacity. Suchunderground railways are also undesirable for the reason that daylightis entirely excluded therefrom and the ventilation thereof is renderedexceedingly diflicult so that from a sanitary stand point they areexceedingly unhealthy and adapted to breed diseased germs and are amenace to the public health.

To. overcome all of the objections above noted, I have invented anunderground railway system which is comparatively cheap to construct andmaintain and which is illuminatedby day light and is well ventilatedbesides being relatively cheap to construct and easy of access. My saidrailway contemplates the use of space underneath sidewalks instead ofunderneath the streets and having the cars running in oppositedirections on opposite sides of said street. This will enable access tothe sub-ways thus formed to be had through the buildings adjoining thesame and said sub-ways could be readily illuminated by means oftransparent sidewalks during the day and by electricity at night. Suchsub-ways could at the same time be used for other purposes, such forexample as for the laying of a main sewer, which simultaneously couldalso constitute a conduit for gas and water pipes and electric wireconduits. My said railway comprises the sub-way A formed underneath thesidewalk B, the latter being composed of glass in any practicable mannerwhereby its strength would be maintained. The said conduit A isseparated from the pavement or street C by means of a wall of reinforcedconcrete D, which latter is thicker at its base than at its upper endand the upper end of which forms the curb-stone E of thestreet. Theother wall of said sub-way would be formed by the foundation walls F ofbuildings and the railway proper would be disposed below the level ofthe platforms G for the passengers so that the car floor H would bedisposed on a level with said platforms G, thus permitting passengers tostep on or alight from the cars I with great ease and rapidity.

The rails J are disposed upon the free end portions of brackets K ofreinforced concrete formed integral with said wall D and with the wallL, such practice at the same time constituting portions of the roof of alarge underground conduit M disposed underneath said subway A andcommunicating with the latter through successive openings adapted to beclosed to maintain said conduit M, sealed by means of the covers M. Thesaid conduit M is preferably substantially circular and within the same,mid-way between the top and bottom thereof brackets O are disposed uponwhich pipes P for gas and water and conduits Q for electric wires or thelike are supported. The said curb wall D and said brackets K and O andthe inner wall L of the railway are all suitably reinforced by means ofmetal reinforcing devices of well known construction.

The car I is preferably devoid of a roof thus rendering the ventilationthereof very free and obviating the necessity of artificiallyilluminating the same.

Ventilating shafts R are provided at the building wall side of thesubway and at the highest points in the latter. Incandescent or otherlamps S are disposed adjacent said shafts R and are adapted when lightedto increase the ventilating effect by heating the air adjacent saidshafts.

My invention is particularly advantageous by reason of the relativelylow cost of excavation incurred owing to the relatively little depth ofthe subway. Owing to the fact that the foundation walls of buildings mayI be had thus rendering my system very advantageous for freight as wellas passenger service. Access to the subway could also mostadvantageously be had through the adjoining buildings in which space forstations could be had.

In all respects my said underground railway system presents features ofadvantage over known systems by reason of its location. A particularlynovel and advantageous feature of my railway system consists in theprovision of open, roofless cars which carry no illuminating, heating orventilating apparatus, the latter being suitably provided as fixtures ofthe subway, thus rendering'the weight per passenger to be transportedvery much less than in any other known system.

I claim as my invention:

,1. An underground railway system, comprising a subway disposed betweenthe curb-wall of the street'and the building line, a transparent roof onsaid subway forming the side walk, there being ventilating openingsestablishing communication between said subway and the outer air.

2. An underground railway system, comprising a subway disposed betweenthe curb-wall of the street and the building line, a transparent roof onsaid subway forming the side walk, there being ventilating openingsestablishing communication between said subway and the outer air, saidsubway communicating at intervals with buildings bordering the same toaiford entrance and exit for passengersv An underground railway systemcomprising a sub Way disposed beneath a transparent side-walk betweenthe street curb and building walls, rails disposed in said subway onwhich cars are adapted to run, and a platform in' said subway disposedsubstantially on 'a level with the car floor, there being ventilatingopenings establishing communication between said subway and the outerair.

4. An underground railway system, comprising a subway disposed betweenthe curb-wall of the street and the building line, a transparent roof onsaid subway forming the side-walk, a conduit disposed in the bottom ofsaid subway and communicating with the latter through openings coversfor said openings, rails resting upon the top wall of said conduit oneither side of said openings, and cars'traveling on said rails.

5. An underground railway system, comprising a subway disposed betweenthe curb-wall of the street and the building line, a transparent roof onsaid subway forming the side-walk, a concrete bottom for said subwayhaving a conduit formed therein, there being openings inthe top of saidconduit establishing communication between the latter and said subway,covers for said openings, rails resting on the upper walls of saidconduit on either side of said openings, cars traveling on said rails,and a platform disposed at a higher level than said rails between thelatter and said'building line.

6. An underground railway system, comprising a subway disposed betweenthe curb-wall of the street and the building line, a transparent roof onsaid subway forming the side-walk, a concrete bottom for said subwayhaving a conduit formed therein, there being openings in the top of saidconduit establishing communication between the latter and said subway,covers for said openings, rails resting on the upper walls of saidconduit on either side of said openings, cars traveling on said rails,and a platform disposed at a higher level than said rails between thelatter and said building line, said concrete beingreinforced verticallyand horizontally.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name in pres ence of twosubscribing witnesses.

JACOB HAMILTON FARRA RQ Witnesses RUDOLPH WM. Lo'rz, A. FRANCKPHILIPSON.

